


i was all over her

by polarised



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Fluff, Light Smut, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:53:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23757169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polarised/pseuds/polarised
Summary: Dana Ward and Juliet Watson drag Max Caulfield to her first party, and although she goes into it expecting to hate it, she meets someone there who will end up changing her life...
Relationships: Dana Ward/Juliet Watson, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81





	i was all over her

If there was one thing that almost everyone at Blackwell Academy knew for a fact, it was that Max Caulfield never goes to parties. Not once in the almost six months she had been there had she ever gone to a party. Even Kate Marsh and Brooke Scott went to a few parties, but Max seemed to avoid them like the plague. It wasn’t like she didn’t have friends to go with, she was actually reasonably well liked in her year, but something inside her just made her avoid any social gathering like the plague. That was until Dana Ward and Juliet Watson made a pact to get Max to a party by whatever means necessary. Their plan was simple, they just went to Max after class one day and asked her if she wanted to accompany them to a Vortex Club party. They both thought it was too simple to really work, but it was worth a shot.

“A Vortex Club party? So I can be made fun of even more than usual?” Max had retorted, a sad look in her eyes.

“Max, you have so many friends in the Vortex Club, like Dana and I!” Juliet had pleaded.

“Yeah, we’d make sure you were having a good time. You could come back here whenever you want, but we all wanna see you go to at least 1 party,” Dana added, putting her hands together with a smile. Max leaned against her dorm’s door frame, looking from Dana to Juliet before sighing heavily.

“Alright, when is it?” She had asked, which made Dana and Juliet step back in surprise.

“Wait really?” Juliet asked incredulously.

“You’ll come with us?” Dana’s eyes seemed to light up with joy. Max had shrugged.

“Yeah, I mean if you guys are gonna be with me, it can’t be that bad. Plus, I do feel bad for locking myself in my room all the time,” she muttered, her face glowing red slightly. The squeal Juliet emitted at this probably could have shattered a few windows, but Max stuck by her choice. But, as she trudged behind Dana and Juliet a week later, her heart feeling like it was about to explode with the force of a nuclear blast, she wondered if she made the right choice. The two girls had squeezed her into tight, black leather pants, and had _somehow_ convinced her to wear a crop top, both items coming directly from Dana’s wardrobe so they didn’t even fit properly. Max shivered as the cold February breeze tickled her navel, and she made a mental note to never ever wear a crop top ever again. Completing the look were long, high-heeled boots, a far cry from her usual feetwear of sneakers or slippers. All in all, Max was already regretting her decision before she even got to the party. A few feet ahead, Dana and Juliet laughed loudly at something, snapping Max out of the pity party in her mind.

“So, then Brooke said that Warren asked her out to a drive-in theatre!” Juliet cried through heaving bouts of laughter.

“Oh my God, that’s so dorky. Kinda cute though, isn’t it?” Dana said, her tone softer than Juliet’s, which was somewhat mocking. Juliet gulped down air, wiping her eyes.

“I guess, they’re both dorks so it fits. Hey, you and Warren are buds, right Max? What do you think of their weird, nerdy date plan?” Juliet asked, turning to look at the quiet brunette behind her. Max bit her lip nervously.

“I mean… I guess if they’re both happy, we can’t really judge them that harshly, right?” She said cautiously, trying desperately to cover up her freezing midsection with her hands. Dana and Juliet looked at each other for a moment before they both shrugged and Juliet turned back around, telling a story to Juliet that involved a _lot_ of hand gestures. Max exhaled deeply. _How the hell am I gonna handle this party if I can barely talk to two of my friends?_ Off in the distance, Max could faintly hear music, the noise muffled by distance and the buildings between them and the source. As they walked, the music got louder and louder, acting like a ticking time bomb for Max. Each step one second closer to, in her mind, the end. Tick tock, tick tock. As she got lost in thoughts of how to ditch the party, Max bumbled into something soft, earning an annoyed “Max!” from Dana. _Whoops._ Max backed up a few paces, apologising profusely.

“Now that you’re done walking into me,” Dana said, causing Max to blush again. “We’re here. Are you gonna be alright?” Her voice dropped to a soft whisper, and she leaned down slightly to be on Max’s level. Max looked up at the medium-size house in front of her, feeling the music vibrating in her chest, squinting at the colourful lights inside that were illuminating the dark, empty street they stood on. Part of Max wanted to scream _YES, GET ME OUT OF HERE PLEASE,_ but she had made a promise to the girls, who both seemed so happy that Max had come along. With a small sigh, she forced a smile and nodded, causing Juliet to cheer. 

“Alright, party with Maxine!” She yelled as she walked up the set of steps to the patio.

“Max! Never Maxine!” Max yelled back, her forced smile faltering slightly.

* * *

There were many times in Max’s life that she pondered exactly _how_ her previous life decisions had led her into a certain predicament. This was no different. As she stood in the corner of a crowded, sweaty room, her head pounding, sipping from a plastic cup full of cola, Max went through all her life choices that had led her to this exact moment. She had chosen to do well at school in Seattle, which led to her application to Blackwell being accepted, which led her to meeting Dana and Juliet, which led to the conversation last week, which led her here. As she ran through the timeline in her head, she took a sip from her cup, only slightly disappointed that there was no alcohol at the party. Not that she could have had a lot, her tolerance was even worse than Brooke’s. But still, a Vortex Club party, at Nathan Prescott’s house, with no alcohol? Max could hardly believe it when she realised. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall she was posted up at, sighing deeply. Suddenly, she felt an elbow collide with her arm. _Fucking jocks…_ Max thought as her eyes snapped open. She raised a finger, ready to yell words that she had never even heard out loud before, until she heard a rushed apology from her left.

“Shit, sorry!” A girl’s voice? Max looked around, dumbfounded, until she found the source of the voice. A tall, slender girl in a black leather jacket and skinny jeans. A necklace of bullets bounced off of her chest, a tattoo peeked out from the right sleeve of the jacket and seemed to continue onto the base of her neck, and a mane of bright blue hair framed her thin face and emphasised out her piercing blue eyes. Max’s voice caught in her throat as she looked the girl up and down, but just as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished into a crowd of people dancing to the music thumping throughout the house. Usually, that would’ve been the end of it, and Max would have resigned herself to never seeing that girl again. But, a small voice in her head whispered _“find her”._ So she did.

“Brooke!” Max yelled at the passing bespectacled girl, who turned around with a frustrated groan.

“What do you want now, Max?” She asked, her trademark bad attitude on full display. Max rolled her eyes.

“Nice to see you too…” she muttered, which made Brooke raise an eyebrow. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Have you seen a kinda punk girl with blue hair around here?” Brooke scoffed.

“As if, she would never be at a party like this,” she gestured around the room of completely sober people. “She’s way more hardcore than that.” There was a knowing tone in her voice that frustrated Max slightly.

“Wait, you know her?” Max asked, snapping her fingers as Brooke waved at someone on the other side of the room.

“Oh yeah, everyone does,” Brooke responded airily, looking past Max. “Sorry, gotta go talk to Warren.” And without another word, Brooke left the room. Max groaned as she pushed off from the wall she was leaning on and set off to get more information on this mystery girl. A minute of searching later, Max’s eyes lit up.

“Hey, Steph!” She yelled across the room, waving her hands above the crowd. On the other side of the room, Steph Gingrich looked up from her phone, and a grin spread across her face when she saw it was Max trying to get her attention. Steph pushed her way through the busy room, using her elbows and shoulders to shove people out of the way.

“‘Sup, Max? Didn’t think I’d ever see you at a Vortex Club party,” she said as she approached Max, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead.

“Same goes for you, I thought this crowd would be way too preppy for you,” Max replied. Steph laughed shortly.

“You’re right, but the upside of the Vortex Club is that all the hottest girls join it. Even Rachel Amber was buddy-buddy with these assholes,” she said, a starry look in her eyes.

“Rachel Amber?” Max asked. Steph’s eyes glazed over slightly.

“Oh shit, I forgot you’re a newbie. She was the coolest, most badass, hottest girl at this school. She left last year, moved to LA to become a model or something. _Everyone_ loved her, regardless of clique,” Steph smiled to herself for a moment before she snapped out of her daze. “Sorry, Max, did you need something?”

“Oh, yeah, uh,” Max spluttered, trying to remember what her point was. After a moment, she snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah! Have you seen a girl with blue hair around here?” Max asked finally, which made Steph’s eyes light up.

“You mean Chloe Price? I think I saw her for a second a little bit ago, haven’t seen her since. Maybe Victoria would know better, she has eyes on everyone here,” she said sweetly. Max’s heart rate seemed to double.

“Awesome, thanks Steph!” Max replied with a grin. Before Steph even had a chance to respond, Max set off in search of Victoria Chase. Of course Victoria would know, she and Nathan were essentially joined at the hip and shared the same handful of brain cells. If there was anybody who knew exactly who was at this party and where they were, it was Victoria the Control Freak. Of course, it didn’t take long to find Victoria, all you had to do was search for the group of the biggest ass-kissers, and she was always right in the middle. As soon as Victoria saw Max approaching, her face contorted like she’d been sucking on a lemon for an hour.

“Oh, the selfie-hoe approaches. How exactly did Max Caulfield get into a Vortex Club party? Did one of my minions let you in on accident?” She asked mockingly, causing the entire group around her to laugh. “You do know we have a strict no-selfie policy, right?” Max sighed deeply.

“Victoria, I’m not here to fight you. I’m looking for someone,” she muttered, to which the group let out a synchronised “Oooh”. Max flushed a deep shade of red.

“Oh, is that so?” Victoria purred, sauntering towards Max. “And just who would _you_ be looking for here?” Max fought the urge to smack Victoria and everyone in the snickering crowd.

“Chloe Price, punk girl, blue hair…” Max said, which caused Victoria’s face to somehow show a greater level of disgust.

“ _Price?_ What the fuck would you want with her? Y’know what, I actually don’t care,” she said without giving Max an opportunity to answer the question. “She’s right over there.” Victoria pointed behind Max, who whipped around to see the unmistakable figure of Chloe Price was leaning against a wall, alone. Max turned back to thank Victoria, but she had already been re-swarmed by her group of cronies. _Weirdos,_ Max thought to herself with a small shrug before she started walking in the direction of the girl who had been stuck on her mind for the last twenty minutes. Her legs felt heavier and heavier with each step, and her heart rate seemed to increase exponentially with each passing second. Finally, with great effort, Max sidled up to Chloe, her hands shaking involuntarily. Chloe looked at Max for a second, then looked away again, her bored expression unchanging. However, Max’s heart fluttered at just the feeling of Chloe’s eyes on her. She tried to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat, so she just opened her mouth wordlessly. Chloe stared at her, completely dumbfounded, for almost a full minute.

“Dude,” she finally said. “Are you okay? Like are you choking or something?” Max felt her cheeks burn bright red as she closed her mouth. _Just relax, she’s just like any other girl... except way hotter and way cooler._ Max gulped.

“Yeah, sorry, I just wanted to say… uh…” _Think, brainiac, think!_ “I wanted to say I like your hair,” she said slowly. Chloe stared at Max, bemused, for what felt like an eternity. Finally, a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.

“I’m gonna excuse that hella boring opener since you’re super cute,” she said, her voice smooth and confident. A shiver ran down Max’s spine when she heard that last word. _She called me cute…_ “So, you don’t look like one of the usual Vortex Club lackeys, what the hell are you doing here?” Chloe asked, turning her body to face Max, who consciously kept her mouth shut as she desperately racked her brain for a response that wouldn’t make her sound like a total loser.

“I, uh, my friends dragged me here,” she finally blurted out, which made Chloe laugh brightly. The sound of her laugh made goosebumps rise up all along Max’s arms.

“I respect that. Hell, I respect that way more than if you came here willingly. These guys are all assholes, especially the Prescotts,” Chloe said bitterly, taking a drink from her own plastic cup with a scowl. “Plus, there isn’t even any booze here.” Max giggled softly.

“Why are you here if you hate them so much, then?” She asked, inching slightly closer to Chloe, who shrugged nonchalantly.

“I got nothing better to do on a Friday night. Plus, half the girls here are gonna end up doing something they’ll regret, and I wanna be that something,” she said with a wink, which made Max almost spit out her drink. “Are you just here to follow me around and make googly eyes at me?” Chloe teased. Somehow, Max turned an even darker shade of red.

“H-hey! You’re the one who bumped into me,” she muttered.

“I never said I was complaining, Caulfield,” Chloe replied with a smug smile, but Max froze mid-laugh.

“Wait, I never told you my name, how-” she started before Chloe held a hand up.

“I have my connections, Maxine.” A scowl crept onto Max’s face at this.

“It’s Max, never Maxine,” she grumbled, but Chloe waved her hand dismissively.

“Yeah I know, but my source said you looked even cuter when you were angry,” she said defiantly before looking Max up and down, purposefully exaggerating her eye movements and lingering on Max’s exposed midriff. “Guess she was right.” Max felt like her heart was about to either explode or just switch off. Just as she was about to protest Chloe’s comment, the blue-haired girl’s phone buzzed loudly. With a groan, Chloe fished around in her pocket for a moment before pulling the phone out, and groaning louder when she had read whatever had come up.

“Look, I gotta bounce,” she said shortly, shoving her phone back into her pocket before holding her hand out. “Gimme your phone, I’ll put my number in.” Max was too shocked to react, instead just staring at Chloe blankly for a moment. _Her number? She wants to put her number in my phone??_ Chloe rolled her eyes as she snapped her fingers impatiently. Finally, Max fumbled for her phone, still blushing furiously, and handed it to Chloe gingerly. Just a few seconds later, Chloe gave her phone back with a smirk.

“See you around, Caulfield,” she said, before turning on her heel and walking through a crowd of people, towards what Max presumed was the exit. _So that was Chloe Price… wowsers…_ Max thought to herself, clutching her recently returned phone in her hand. It took a few seconds for her to recall _why_ Chloe had needed her phone, but her heart did a somersault when she finally remembered. Feverently, Max unlocked her phone and viewed her contacts, scanning the admittedly short page for a new addition. And then, in the P’s section, she found it.

_Chloe Price ♡_

* * *

Only 15 minutes after Chloe had left the party, Max, Dana, and Juliet were back in Dana’s dorm room, where Max was pacing back and forth, rambling to herself. 

“But she only said ‘see you around’, she never said ‘call me’ or anything!” Max cried, flopping down on the couch in Dana’s room. The other two girls looked at each other, somewhat concerned for Max’s sanity.

“Look, Max,” Dana said gently, sitting down next to the panicking girl. “If she gave you her number, that means she _wants_ you to talk to her.” But Max still bit her lip nervously, staring at the blank message box on her phone screen. With a small groan, Juliet sat up on Dana’s bed.

“Do you want us to help you text her?” She asked, in a slightly condescending tone. Dana shot her a warning look, but Max’s eyes lit up.

“You would do that?” She asked hopefully, which made Juliet smirk at Dana.

“Yeah, you’ll keep us up all night otherwise,” Juliet muttered, glancing at her watch and wincing. “And I need my beauty sleep at some point. So, what are you thinking?” She asked Max, who went white in the face.

“Oh, uh, I was just gonna say ‘hi’ or something…” she mumbled, which made Dana groan.

“Definitely not, that’s like the worst opener you could possibly have. If you wanna just start with a greeting, you have to make it flirty,” Dana said, perking up slightly. As soon as Juliet saw Dana get a handle on the situation, she laid back down on the bed, quickly dozing off.

“So, maybe something like ‘hey, good looking’?” Max suggested. Dana stared at Max for a moment, her eyes vacant.

“No wonder you’ve never had a girlfriend. Okay, give me the phone and I’ll type something. I’ll let you see before I send it, don’t worry,” Dana said, already sensing Max’s complaint. Reluctantly, Max handed her phone to Dana, who immediately started typing, muttering “no,” and “hmm, okay,” intermittently. Finally, after almost a full minute of typing, Dana handed Max her phone back, looking proud of herself. Her hands shaking slightly, Max took the phone and read over what Dana had typed.

_“Hey Chloe, I really loved talking to you tonight. Do you wanna do some ‘talking’ tomorrow night, alone? X”_

Max re-read the message over and over again, mouthing each word. 

“See, it’s confident enough to let her know what you really _want_ , but dorky enough to be believably from you,” Dana said somewhat nervously, hurriedly finishing with a “no offense.” After reading the message over and over and over again, Max finally nodded, her thumb shakily hovering above the “Send” button. It was like there was a force pushing against her thumb, making it so that she couldn’t press the button. She could feel Dana’s stare, the judgement radiated from her like heat from a star. With what felt like a Herculean effort, Max finally brought her thumb down on the small, orange button. Her heart was beating faster than she thought it ever had. Suddenly, Dana let out a small cheer.

“Yeah, go Max! Now we just have to wait for her to respond,” she said happily. As the words left Dana’s mouth, three small dots appeared inside a speech bubble at the bottom of Max’s screen. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. What if Chloe thought she was lame, what if she figured out that it wasn’t Max who wrote the message. Both Max and Dana watched the small bubble with bated breath, before a message popped up.

_“Love the enthusiasm, but I actually think you’re cool enough that I wanna do more than fuck and duck. Maybe dinner tomorrow?”_

At that moment, Max could have died happily. _Chloe Price, one of the prettiest, coolest girls I’ve ever talked to, wants to go on a_ **_date_ ** _with me!_ Dana seemed to share Max’s enthusiasm, jumping from the couch enthusiastically.

“Yes!! You’ve so got this, Max. Just agree and ask where she wants to go. You _can_ do that, right?” Her tone became more worried at this last sentence, but Max simply rolled her eyes and stood up, walking towards the door as she texted a response to Chloe.

“Thanks for inviting me to the party, guys,” she said as she stood in the doorway of Dana’s dorm, blushing slightly as she realised how much she owed the couple. “I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow morning.” With a small smile, Max walked back to her own dorm as she typed a response to Chloe.

_“Dinner sounds great! Where do you wanna go?”_

As quietly as possible, Max closed the door to her dorm room, sighing deeply as she changed into pyjamas and got into bed. Her phone buzzed, sending a shockwave through her heart.

_“My mom runs a diner, we could just go there? I could probably convince her to give you free food.”_

An involuntary smile crept its way across Max’s face.

_“Hellz yeah, I love diner food ^_^ I don’t have any classes tomorrow, what time is good for you?”_

A minute passed. Max held her breath. _Bzzt._

 _“An emoji_ **_and_ ** _actually saying ‘hellz’? You’re ruining your chances here, Caulfield.”_

Max’s heart sank instantly. She started typing out a frantic response before her phone buzzed again.

_“Kidding. I get off work at 5, I’ll pick you up at 6.”_

Chloe’s assertive wording made Max blush slightly. 

_“Okay, see you at 6 then :) x”_

Max couldn’t help but giggle to herself as she sent the text, impatiently awaiting a response scolding her slightly. Sure enough, a minute later:

_“You better wear something super sexy to make up for all these emojis”_

Max laughed before tossing her phone to the side and switching her bedroom light off, determined to get a good night’s sleep before her date. As she drifted off to sleep, she smiled warmly.

_I actually got a date with Chloe Price. I need to go to more Vortex Club parties._

* * *

By 5PM the next day, all the warm feelings Max had been revelling in were torn to shreds by the sometimes overly-helpful power couple of Dana and Juliet. Max was standing in Dana’s dorm room behind a mountain of clothes, while the other two girls ran between Juliet’s room and Max’s room, retrieving even more garments. By the time the pair were satisfied with the amount of clothes they had picked out, there was almost an entire wardrobe worth of loose clothing in a pile in front of Max. Dana and Juliet stood back a bit, staring at the pile as if the right clothes would fly out and attach themselves to the slightly uncomfortable Max.

“So she said to wear something sexy, right?” Dana asked, walking to the side of the pile and kneeling down. Max’s cheeks glowed crimson.

“Well, yeah, but I think she was just joking… right?” She asked suspiciously. Juliet shook her head with a sigh.

“I don’t know, Max. To be honest, wearing something hot isn’t a bad idea anyway. Dress to impress, you know?” As soon as the words left Juliet’s mouth, Max remembered her outfit from the previous night and shivered slightly.

“It just doesn’t feel like _me_ , I don’t wanna fool her into thinking I’m cooler than I am or something…” Max mumbled, still blushing furiously. Dana laughed shortly.

“Please, you are totally cool enough to pull off whatever look we give you. You’re just too scared to try, and that’s where we come in,” she said confidently, pulling articles of clothing from the pile. Eventually, she shoved a pile of clothes into Max’s hands with a grin. “Here, try these on. We’ll look away while you… y’know,” Dana imitated an adult dancer, which Max responded to by lightly smacking her in the side with the clothes in her hand. Somewhat reluctantly, Max tried on the clothes she had been given. A few minutes later, she was decked out in a short, black dress and high heels. Silently, Dana and Juliet inspected every angle of the outfit, while Max closed her eyes and prayed for a bolt of lightning to strike her down.

“It’s not working,” Dana said eventually, sighing heavily as she knelt back down to the pile of clothes. Only a few seconds later, she gasped softly. “You said she had a kinda punk look, right, Max?” Max could almost hear the smile on her face.

“Yeah, why?” She asked cautiously, opening her eyes as Dana giggled softly. Desperately, Max looked to Juliet, who seemed just as confused.

“Here, try this,” Dana said, shoving a pile of clothes into Max’s arms and turning around with Juliet, whispering into the other girl’s ear. Max shook her head and looked at the clothes in her hands. A slightly torn up red and black flannel shirt, ripped jeans, an old faded band shirt, and a choker. When she was done getting changed, Dana and Juliet turned around and almost instantly cheered.

“Holy shit, Max, you look great!” Juliet said, stepping towards Max to get a better look. Dana smiled proudly as she reached into her makeup bag, whistling softly.

“This is the look, young Max. She’ll be drooling over you,” she said somewhat smugly. As Max looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but agree. _Looking hardcore, Max,_ she thought to herself with a small smile. Dana pulled a few brushes and pencil-shaped objects from her makeup bag and approached Max. “Okay, just hold still while I do this and then we can send you off.”

Half an hour later, Max was waiting on the side of the road in front of Blackwell’s main building, staring at her phone anxiously. Chloe had sent a text saying she was on her way almost ten minutes ago, but there was still no sign of her. Max shivered slightly as a breeze blew through the rips in the flannel shirt, feeling like icy daggers stabbing her arms. Just as she started to lose hope that Chloe was going to show up at all, an old, battered truck barrelled down the road, blaring hard rock music. Even without seeing who was driving, Max could make a pretty confident guess at who was behind the wheel. Sure enough, when the truck pulled up next to her, there was no mistaking those bright blue locks, even if they were tucked into a red beanie.

“Whoa, didn’t expect that look from you, Caulfield. You look great,” Chloe said from inside the truck, turning down the music slightly while Max blushed. 

“Thanks, so do you,” Max mumbled, her eyes flicking from Chloe to her own shoes.

“Ready to grab some grub?” Chloe flashed a smile that made Max’s legs feel weak. _You can do this, it’s just dinner,_ Max thought to herself, breathing deeply as she opened the passenger side door of the truck and hopped in. Chloe looked amazing behind the wheel. Her eyes were obscured by a pair of aviator sunglasses, she was wearing an olive green bomber jacket over a deep red t-shirt that was cut at the shoulders in a way that Max was able to sneak a peek at her bra (she made the great effort not to stare), and her seemingly signature necklace of three empty bullet casings hung around her neck. The inside of the truck was adorned with various knick knacks that looked like they were picked out from a yard sale. A dim blue LED illuminated the single bench-like seat, a bobblehead of a Mariachi singer was displayed proudly on the dashboard, and a cheap rug was spread at the feet of the passenger seat. On the back wall of the two-person interior, Chloe had doodled a small eye inside a triangle. 

“Cool car,” Max muttered as she looked around. Even though she shook her head dismissively, Max could tell that Chloe appreciated the compliment. 

“Thanks, fixed it up myself. One day I’ll use it to get the hell out of this shit hole, but until then, it’s pretty useful for picking up chicks,” she said teasingly, which made Max blush harder. Without another word, Chloe shifted into gear and slammed her foot on the accelerator, leaving Blackwell in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

One of the things that had always brought Max a feeling of nostalgic comfort was old-timey diners. She wasn’t entirely sure why, it wasn’t like she grew up in the 50s when such diners were in vogue, but the reasoning was never that important to her. Maybe it was the smell of bacon permeating throughout the whole restaurant, or the amalgamation of classic rock and roll emanating from an old jukebox with the sounds of scraping silverware and idle chatter between patrons, or the friendly wait staff who would never turn down an opportunity to pour you a fresh cup of coffee, no matter the time of day. All Max really knew was that she thanked her lucky stars when she walked into the Two Whales Diner and all the familiar calm feelings flooded back to her. For the first time since she woke up that morning, she felt at peace. Chloe followed Max through the classic diner door and held her arm out teasingly with a coy “M’lady?” Deciding this would be a perfect opportunity to one-up her cocky date, Max looped her arm through Chloe’s with an affectionate smile. It was immediately evident to Max that this was the closest she had physically been to Chloe, and her heart started beating erratically, the calm demeanor she felt from being in the diner shattering almost immediately.

Everything about Chloe felt perfect to Max. Her arms, while not hugely muscular, were clearly toned and fit. Max could tell just by the way Chloe’s arm tensed slightly when they locked arms and her bicep had brushed against Max’s comparatively tiny arm, which made her blush wildly. Max was also suddenly aware of Chloe’s unique aroma. She had noticed it in the truck, but here, standing arm-in-arm with her, Max could clearly pick out every unique smell. The stale cigarette smoke, the spray-on deodorant that reminded Max more of something her own father would use rather than any of the marketed-towards-women brands she had ever used herself, she could even faintly smell the shampoo mixed with the chemicals in her dyed hair. And the way Chloe looked at her, how she had to tilt her head down slightly to see into Max’s eyes, the feeling in Max’s stomach whenever Chloe flashed that flirty smile and narrowed her smokey eyes… 

“Did you hear me? Are you alright, dude?” Chloe asked suddenly, snapping Max out of her daydream.

“What?” Max shook her head wildly, trying to remember what Chloe had said. Instead of being offended, the other girl just laughed.

“I swear you must be high sometimes. I asked where you wanted to sit, Mad Max,” she repeated with a smile. Max felt her cheeks burn again.

“Oh, uh, I don’t mind, wherever you think is best,” Max muttered, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. _Nice job, idiot._

“Well my mom’s gonna find us wherever we sit, so… over here?” Chloe started walking towards a booth in the corner of the diner, with Max in tow. With a shrug, Max slid into one of the seats and, to her surprise, Chloe sat next to her rather than opposite her. _Shit, shit, shit, shit._ Chloe took off her jacket, revealing just how toned her arms are, and the way her colourful sleeve tattoo of skulls, flowers, and butterflies seemed to contort as she moved her strong arms. _SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT._ Max focused on controlling her breathing as Chloe waved down a tall blonde woman, who walked to the booth briskly, radiating authority. Once she came to a stop in front of them, Max took notice of the striking resemblance to Chloe and concluded that this must be Chloe’s mother. The nametag pinned to her blouse read ‘Joyce’.

“Nice to see you back here, Chloe,” Joyce said, her voice laden with a thick southern accent. “Nice to see you too, Miss…?” Her gaze had turned towards Max, whose eyes widened in surprise.

“Um, Caulfield, ma’am. Max Caulfield,” she replied in as confident a voice as possible, which ended up being little more than a squeak. 

“She’s my _date,_ mom, before you get any ideas of telling her about how dangerous I am or whatever,” Chloe said suddenly, putting her arm around Max’s shoulders _(OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD)_ with a smirk, which Joyce responded to by rolling her eyes. 

“Chloe, you don’t have to prove - whatever, just order some damn food,” she said shortly, scowling slightly before walking away. Max immediately got the impression that getting on Joyce’s bad side was not a smart decision. Instead of thinking about that any more than she had to, Max focused on Chloe’s hand gripping her shoulder, the way her calloused fingers were squeezing lightly, the way her burly forearm brushed against her exposed neck. Without thinking, Max leaned her head against Chloe’s shoulder. For the first time since they met, Chloe was speechless, and Max swore she felt a bit of heat radiating from Chloe’s cheeks.

“I didn’t realise we were _there_ already,” Chloe finally said with a slightly awkward laugh, which snapped Max out of her delusion. In a flash, she sat up, mumbling apologies at a record speed. Chloe waved her hand dismissively, a small smile appearing on her face. “Hey, I get it. I make a good pillow.”

By the time Joyce had come around with the last round of drinks (a diet Cola for Max and a black coffee for Chloe) an hour later, the two girls could barely let five seconds pass in silence as their conversations grew longer and more natural. As they talked more and more, Max found herself feeling far more comfortable around the previously mysterious woman. Throughout their dinner date, she had learned that Chloe was just a regular girl, an apprentice mechanic with a strict step-father and a chip on her shoulder. A part of Max still felt that Chloe was far too out of her league, but now that they were just talking like equals, that feeling had subsided significantly. It had something to do with the way Chloe would smile brightly as Max told a story, or the slight eye movements that said more than a thousand words, or even the few times Max had caught Chloe blushing at something she had said. Everything about being with her made Max feel warm and safe, the same feeling she felt when she was wrapped up in her favourite blanket back home. But along with that safe feeling came a sort of lust that she had never experienced before, not on this level at least. On more than a few occasions, Max fantasised about wrapping her arms around Chloe’s waist and kissing her deeply, about feeling their bodies collide with each other, about Chloe’s slender fingers exploring every inch of her body… 

“Yo, you ready to get out of here?” Chloe said, which brought Max back down to earth. She blinked for a second before nodding quickly, trying to calm the burning in her cheeks. Chloe smiled widely at the shy girl. “God, you’re like double cute when you’re embarrassed. C’mon, let’s go,” she said, standing up and holding a hand out to Max, who graciously accepted the help. After she pulled herself out of the booth with Chloe’s help, Chloe turned her hand slightly and interlocked her fingers with Max’s, which made the already flustered girl turn an even brighter shade of red. Max chanced a glance at Chloe, and was slightly relieved to see that she too was blushing, although less than Max. They walked hand-in-hand to the door of the diner in silence, avoiding each other’s eyes until they got to the truck, where Chloe stopped with a heavy sigh. She let go of Max’s hand and finally looked into her pale blue eyes.

“So, uh, this has been really fun,” she started. Immediately, Max felt her heart crumble. She could already hear the rest of the sentence in her head, _but you’re kinda weird and clingy, I think we should see other people._ “But I was wondering if you wanted to come back to my place for a couple hours, just to hang out y’know?” Chloe finished, her eyes flicking around the parking lot. It took Max a second to process what Chloe had just said, but when the words did register, it took every ounce of energy she still had not to grin like an idiot.

“Oh yeah, sure, why not?” She answered, trying her hardest to sound nonchalant about the whole situation. Instantly, Chloe smiled brightly.

“Awesome! Well, after you,” she said in a faux-british accent, opening the passenger door of the truck. With a short bow, Max climbed into the cozy vehicle, unable to stop her leg from bouncing up and down at a hundred miles per hour. Shortly after, Chloe entered through the driver’s door, and flashed a smile at Max. “We’ll just have to hope step-dick isn’t hanging around, he might lecture you on the dangers of hanging out with me,” she said bitterly, her smile faltering. 

“I might end up making you act more like me, who knows?” Max said somewhat hopefully, which drew a laugh from Chloe that made Max’s head feel light.

“Sure, keep dreaming, Caulfield,” she retorted, unable to hide the smile on her lips.

The drive from the Two Whales to Chloe’s house only took about five minutes, but it felt like an hour to Max. All her built-up anticipation from the last 24 hours was at a boiling point, so much so that she barely said a word the whole way there. Eventually, Chloe stopped trying to make conversation and just turned the music in the truck up, dispelling the antsy silence between them. By the time they pulled up to the empty driveway at Chloe’s modest house, the outside painted half-blue and half-white, Max felt like she was about to explode with excitement. 

“Welcome to Casa Del Price,” Chloe said as she turned off the truck, the old engine slowly quieting down. “Doesn’t look like there’s anyone else here… step-douche must be working late.” Chloe barely suppressed a chuckle as she opened the door to the truck and climbed out, leaving Max alone in the truck. After a few deep breaths, Max opened her own door, her legs feeling like lead. _You’re ok, you’re just going to hang out… at her house… alone…_ Her stomach started doing cartwheels as she followed Chloe, who sauntered to the front door of the house, whistling as she pulled out a ring of keys. A second later, the door was open and Max peered past Chloe to the inside of the house.

It definitely wasn’t what she would have expected Chloe Price’s house to look like. In fact, it looked normal. Family pictures adorned the walls, a bouquet of flowers rested in a vase in front of what seemed to be the main stairwell, and what furniture Max could see looked neat and unassuming. Max had half expected the house to be just like Chloe; messy, fun, and full of personality. Instead, it reminded Max of her own parents’ house back in Seattle. Chloe waltzed in, unceremoniously dropping the keys onto a small table at the side of the front door.

“My room’s upstairs, I’ll let you check out down here while I, uh… make sure my place is presentable…” She sounded embarrassed, which surprised Max. From what she knew, Chloe would have been somewhat proud of having a messy room. Before she had the opportunity to question her, Chloe had ascended the staircase and slammed a door upstairs, leaving Max alone. With a shrug, she started creeping through the otherwise empty house, her heart skipping a beat each time the floorboards creaked underneath her feet. Just down the hall, a small kitchen was adjacent to what seemed to be an open-plan dining room and living room. A stack of parking tickets laid on the coffee table in the living room, each ticket sporting Chloe’s name. Max couldn’t help but smile. _At least that’s on-brand for her,_ she thought to herself as she walked back to the foot of the staircase, her heart beating at a mile a minute. 

“Alright, it’s all good!” Max heard Chloe’s voice a couple minutes later, slightly muffled, from somewhere upstairs, making her jump slightly. 

“O-Okay, I’m on my way up!” Max yelled back, her hands shaking. As she took her first step onto the creaky staircase, her legs alternated between feeling like gelatin and steel, each step bringing her closer to being alone in a room with Chloe… in her _bedroom…_ before she even realised where she really was, she found herself at the top of the staircase. In front of her, a small door with horizontal slats cut out stood closed tight, the door to a bathroom was ajar to the left of the slatted door, and to her right, a door covered in stickers and carvings. The stickers were emblazoned with phrases like _“KEEP OUT”_ and _“RESTRICTED AREA”_ , which Max couldn’t help but giggle at. But as her slight laughter faded, the anxiety came back to her in waves. She rested her hand on the doorknob, breathing heavily. _It’ll be fine. She probably just wants to play some card games or something,_ Max told herself. Finally, with one last brave sigh, she slowly pushed open the door.

Up to this point in her life, nothing could have prepared Max for what she saw when that door swung open. The room was a perfect encapsulation of Chloe’s personality. A tattered American flag hung in front of a window, causing the sunlight leaking into the room to be tinged with alternating stripes of red and white. A big, messy bed laid next to the window, covered in pillows and blankets and clothes. All over the walls, posters and graffiti told you everything you needed to know about Chloe Price. She had a passion for music, trusted absolutely nobody, loved drugs and alcohol, and only had an eye for women. Clothes laid in piles all over the room, along with overflowing boxes of junk that looked like they were meant to be taken out of the room a decade ago. And, in the middle of the room, lying on her bed, was Chloe herself. She had changed out of her previous clothes, and now only wore a set of skimpy black underwear, revealing far more of her body than Max had ever dreamed of seeing. As soon as Max laid eyes on her, she could have sworn her heart had actually stopped. She felt her entire face glow bright red as she froze on the spot, her eyes wide with shock. To her surprise, Chloe responded to this with laughter.

“What’s up, Maximus?” She said simply after a minute of laughter. Slowly, Max felt her legs come back to life, as she lumbered towards Chloe, who sat up now with a smirk. “Surprised to see me?” Chloe’s voice was little more than a whisper, with a sultry lilt in her words that was very out of character for the Chloe that Max thought she knew. As Max continued slowly walking towards Chloe, the taller woman stood up, which only made Max’s heart and legs feel weaker. Finally, Max was right in front of Chloe, her eyes flicking from Chloe’s smirking face to her bare legs to a spot of slightly discoloured paint in the corner of the room that was suddenly _very_ interesting to her.

“C-Chloe, I-” Max finally stuttered out, but she was cut off by Chloe shushing her gently.

“Don’t worry about it, Max. Let’s just enjoy ourselves,” she breathed out each word, so quiet that Max wouldn’t be able to hear if she were just inches further back. Chloe took Max’s wrists in her own hands, which sent a chill up Max’s spine, and wrapped the flustered girl’s arms around the back of her neck. Chloe couldn’t help but gasp softly at the feeling of Max’s cold fingertips on her bare neck, but she quickly shifted her focus back to the shy, quiet, insanely beautiful girl in front of her. With a small smile, Chloe gently grabbed Max by the waist, pulling her closer so their bodies were only separated by Max’s clothing and their lips were centimetres apart. They stayed like that for a while, frozen together in the middle of Chloe’s room, with the sunset beaming in through the windows coating their bodies in warm, orange light.

“Chloe…” Max breathed, her fingers subconsciously playing with the strands of hair at the back of Chloe’s head.

“Just shut up and kiss me, dork,” Chloe whispered, grinning slightly. Without a second thought, Max tilted her head just an inch and pressed her lips to Chloe’s, her hand tightening around a clump of Chloe’s hair. Kissing Chloe Price was everything that Max had dreamed it would be since they first met at the Vortex Club party just last night. It was intense, passionate, fiery. Everything from the way her breath felt against her skin, to the way she could almost taste the cigarettes and beer that Chloe had no doubt indulged in earlier in the day. Chloe slid one of her hands underneath Max’s t-shirt, causing the smaller girl to emit a noise somewhere between a gasp and a moan as Chloe’s nails grazed against her pale skin. She felt Chloe smile against her lips, almost taunting her to fight back. Max let one of her hands wander, sliding it down Chloe’s toned body, feeling each individual muscle and vein until her hand reached Chloe’s leg. A moan escaped Max’s lips as Chloe’s fingers brushed against her bare nipple, to which she retorted by lightly brushing her fingers against Chloe’s groin through her lace panties. Finally, Chloe moaned quietly, before that familiar cocky smile quickly returned.

“Such a tease,” Chloe muttered, swinging Max around so that the brunette had her back to the bed before giving her a light shove. Max landed flat on the bed, looking up at Chloe with such a feeling of need that she had never experienced before.

“Time to quit teasing then,” Max whispered back, an unfamiliar raspiness in her voice that made Chloe raise her eyebrows.

“Oh, believe me, Caulfield, the gloves are coming off,” Chloe retorted, straddling Max on the bed and holding the smaller girl’s wrists down with a tight grip that made Max moan slightly. “Get ready for the best night of your fucking life.”

* * *

It wasn’t often that Max woke up in a room that wasn’t her own. The only times she could remember it happening were when she had sleepovers with her friends when she was younger, but even then it was a rare occurrence as the sleepovers usually took place at her house. Yet, here she was, in Chloe Price’s bed, her head cushioned by the punk girl’s sizable bicep. As her eyes fluttered open and her brain started booting up, she realised that both herself and Chloe were completely naked, their bodies wrapped around each other. Chloe seemed to have fallen asleep as she was giving Max a goodnight kiss, as her lips were mere inches from Max’s forehead. Just the thought of an exhausted Chloe passing out as she tried to perform such an intimate act made Max smile warmly. For a second, she debated laying her head back down and going back to sleep, content to enjoy this small moment of peace, of… love? _Is that what this is? Is that what she wants?_ Max’s brain suddenly went into overdrive, that same question racing through her mind over and over again. _What if she just sees this as a one-time thing? I don’t wanna be that awkward clingy girl that thinks there’s more here than there actually is… but…_ Max glanced up at Chloe’s peaceful, sleeping face, her eyes closed gently, her lips parted slightly. _I think I love her… or at least I want something more than_ **_this._ ** _Maybe I should just go, I can talk to her about it later, I guess._ With a small, sad sigh, she slowly and carefully extracted herself from Chloe’s arms, her fingers lingering on the sleeping girl’s wrists for a moment longer than needed as she moved her fit arms out of the way. As silently as possible, Max pulled herself out of the bed, stretching in the light of the rising sun. 

“Clothes,” Max whispered to herself, stifling a yawn. Blushing slightly at the feeling of the cold air on her bare skin, Max looked around the room, trying to find her own clothes within the piles of Chloe’s. Slowly but surely, she pieced together her outfit from the previous night, until she was finally fully clothed. As she pulled her shoes on, she glanced back at Chloe sadly. She looked so vulnerable when she was asleep, when she couldn’t use her usual tactic of being abrasive and confrontational to mask her real personality. A kind, loving, goofy girl who Max still couldn’t believe she had fallen for so quickly. But there was something about Chloe that made her irresistible to Max. Finally, Max drew her eyes away from her sleeping lover with a deep sigh. She stood up, her legs still sore from last night, and crept over to Chloe. Gently, she brushed a strand of blue hair from Chloe’s perfect face, and gently pressed her lips to her porcelain cheek.

“See you around, Chloe,” Max whispered, more to herself than to Chloe. As she tip-toed her way towards the door, she heard a rustling from the bed that made her heart skip a beat.

“Mmmgh, what?” Chloe mumbled, prying her eyes open slowly. “Oh, hey Max,” she said as she slowly registered the presence of the other girl. Max froze with her hand on the doorknob, praying that Chloe was still too tired to know what was happening. “Hey, where’re you going?” _Shit._

“Uh, good morning, Chloe,” Max said hurriedly, removing her hand from the door and turning towards the half-asleep girl with a smile. Chloe, however, seemed to have woken up more than Max had anticipated.

“Are you trying to run out on me? I mean, usually I’d be fine with that, but...” Chloe stopped herself as Max’s eyes widened.

“But what?” She asked slowly, walking towards the bed as Chloe slumped back with a groan.

“Don’t make me say it…” she mumbled, her face glowing red. After a short silence, she sighed. “Fine. I like you, and I don’t want this to just be a one night stand. I even said I wanted more than that after that party. But I really think we could have something, y’know?” She sounded embarrassed by the words, but that didn’t matter to Max. Her head felt light, like all the oxygen in her brain had been turned to helium

“R-really?” She asked breathlessly, sitting down on the bed opposite Chloe, who pulled the sheets up to cover her exposed body.

“Yeah, I mean, we talked for _hours_ yesterday before we, y’know,” she gestured to the bed with a smile that made Max laugh. “And I’ve never really done that with anyone before. We usually don’t exchange more than twenty words before my clothes are off, but it’s different with you.” Her usually harsh tone of voice was now softer than Max had ever heard.

“Well, I mean… my first class isn’t until noon today,” Max said slowly, a smile forming on her lips that was mirrored by Chloe. 

“Sooo, d’you wanna go grab a coffee?” She replied hopefully. “I mean, I can drop you off after, it’s no big deal.” Max leaned forward, now grinning fully.

“Sounds like a date,” she whispered. Chloe leaned towards Max, and their lips collided in a softer, more romantic kiss than last night. _Never thought I’d say this, but God I owe the Vortex Club,_ Max thought as she found Chloe’s hand with her own, grasping it tightly.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry it's so damn long, but I had a lot of fun writing this one and it's made me want to write more AUs, whether that be as one-shots or multi-chapter fics. I'm almost done with chapter 4 of Overcoming Obstacles, so I will try to get that finished and uploaded by the end of the week. After that, I have some thoughts for a couple smaller fics and one-shots, then a larger, multi-chapter fic. As always, kudos, shares, comments, etc. are appreciated.
> 
> Twitter: @DARKROOMMAX


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